This invention relates to building structures, and more particularly to modular building units for erection on an existing floor construction.
The construction of buildings, especially single family homes, has followed substantially identical patterns for many generations. This well-known construction process of manufacturing individual wooden frameworks for the walls and roof, mounting the proper materials for the inner and outer walls to the wall framework, and roofing material to the roof framework is an extremely expensive operation requiring many man hours to complete.
In order to circumvent some of the drawbacks inherent in the conventional building process, various modularized construction units have entered the building market. Generally, the existing modular products suffer from either of two difficulties. First of all, some modular products are merely component parts for home building or small labor-saving devices which have limited utility and are not capable of making any substantial reduction in the overall hours required to construct a building or the skill required for such construction.
The second difficulty generally befalling the remaining entrants in the prefabricated units are their minimal variability or individuality in the possible ways in which the modules can be interconnected to form a completed structure. These modules have relatively few, if any, variations as to which shape or floor plan arrangements the completed structure can take. As a result, each completed structure is extremely similar to every other structure manufactured from the particular modules, thereby eliminating any individual creativity and promoting monotonous redundancy.
Furthermore, many of the existing prefabricated units are completely constructed and decorated at the plant, before shipment. This type of an arrangement results in expensive shipping costs, since the units cannot be stacked, limitation of sites where modules can be constructed, and trade unions' difficulty when inspection approval of finished plumbing and electrical wiring is sought.